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And no doubt he was. He looked as blindsided as she had been by the revelation that Brooke and Nat were in an intimate relationship.
“Yes.” Henri had a smug look on his face. He was pleased that he’d managed to shock them. Perhaps he hoped he’d wounded Niko with the truth. “The little bitch was desperate to keep her girlfriend a secret. No matter what the cost.”
Niko’s jaw tightened, and Rayne had a sudden fear he was going to reach across the table and punch the jerk in the face. Not that she would mind seeing the mocking smile knocked off his mouth, but she didn’t want Niko to do something that might get him arrested.
“And what about Nat?” She directed Henri’s attention to herself.
Henri grudgingly turned his head to send her an impatient frown. “What about her?”
“Did you blackmail her?”
“I . . .” The words faded as he licked his lips.
“No lies,” Rayne snapped. “You owe Natalie the truth.”
Rayne braced herself for some smart-ass comment. Henri Wagner had readily abused the trust of the nuns who’d taken him in as an orphan to blackmail young girls for a few bucks. Why would he have remorse because one of them was dead?
Surprisingly, however, Henri’s gaze lowered, his jaw clenched, as if she’d managed to strike a nerve.
“Okay. Fine. I blackmailed her,” he muttered. “I don’t think she cared about people finding out, but she didn’t want to hurt her lover.”
Rayne leaned forward. She had no idea what this might have to do with Nat’s death, but it couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?
“What did you demand?”
“Five thousand American dollars.”
“Five thousand?” Rayne blinked in disbelief. The Scantlins were a wealthy family, but Nat had only been eighteen at the time. There was no way her parents would have handed over that amount of money without asking questions.
Henri hunched his shoulders. “I knew she would do anything to protect Brooke. And I was becoming desperate. I’d been stuck in those damned stables for what felt like an eternity. If I didn’t do something to get out of there, I’d be trapped until I became too old to work and I became another pensioner the nuns had to support.”
Rayne ignored his peevish explanation. He clearly had a victim mentality. Everything was someone else’s fault.
“You wrote the note threatening her,” Rayne said, the words a statement not a question.
“She was trying to stall. She needed a little incentive to give me what I wanted.”
“And when she refused, you killed her,” Niko abruptly intruded into the conversation.
“No.” Henri’s fingers tightened around the empty beer can, nearly crushing it. “She didn’t refuse.”
“What?” Rayne breathed in disbelief.
“She gave me the money,” Henri said.
“When?” Niko demanded.
Henri shot him a wary glance. Was he wondering if he’d pushed Niko too far? He should be. Rayne could feel the tension radiating from her companion.
“The day before the graduation,” Henri said. “She walked into the stables with an envelope stuffed with cash.”
“I don’t believe you,” Niko growled in harsh tones. “I think she threatened to expose your blackmail scam and you decided to silence her.”
“No, no, no.” Without warning, Henri jumped to his feet, as if preparing to flee. “I wasn’t even there when she died.”
“You weren’t where?” Niko slid out of his seat, no doubt prepared to stop Henri from making his escape. “At the school?”
“I wasn’t in Austria,” Henri insisted. “I flew to Oslo the night before. From there I went to London, before heading to America. You can check my passport.” Henri glanced around the kitchen, as if expecting the passport to magically appear. Then he pointed toward a drawer next to the back door. “It’s in there.”
